Comments

Perfectly adequate. The problem with such images is that they usually look better to the eye than the camera. You have gone for f20 for some reason, which means huge depth of field and the jumble of masts etc. become more confusing because they are all in focus.
better to pick a closer object and make it the subject, shooting at f4 or 5.6 to get some blur into the background. Digital gives huge depth of field which can be a compositional nightmare.
Paul

Perfectly adequate. The problem with such images is that they usually look better to the eye than the camera. You have gone for f20 for some reason, which means huge depth of field and the jumble of masts etc. become more confusing because they are all in focus.

better to pick a closer object and make it the subject, shooting at f4 or 5.6 to get some blur into the background. Digital gives huge depth of field which can be a compositional nightmare.

Focus_Man....I lined these ships this way to step their bows. I think maybe I could have moved a little more LEFT. I wanted the photo to show them lined up to one another.
paulbroad...thanks for your comments. I don't know why I used f20 but know better now. I changed this image to B & W and load it now for your comments please.

Focus_Man....I lined these ships this way to step their bows. I think maybe I could have moved a little more LEFT. I wanted the photo to show them lined up to one another.

paulbroad...thanks for your comments. I don't know why I used f20 but know better now. I changed this image to B & W and load it now for your comments please.

Iím no expert but I think the advice for that shot was pretty good
To me your desired step effect of the bows is overshadowed due to the busy & cluttered background, so where the viewers eye should be looking at your step/triangles its actually drawn to the collection of masts, buildings and hillside
To me the first piece of advice is [i]suggesting[/i] that there may have been a more effective background had you moved to the right
If your determined to keep this angle of view then you need to consider (when taking the shot) what youíll do to the background to correct it in post processing or camera settings as suggested in the 2nd post

Iím no expert but I think the advice for that shot was pretty good

To me your desired step effect of the bows is overshadowed due to the busy & cluttered background, so where the viewers eye should be looking at your step/triangles its actually drawn to the collection of masts, buildings and hillside

To me the first piece of advice is suggesting that there may have been a more effective background had you moved to the right

If your determined to keep this angle of view then you need to consider (when taking the shot) what youíll do to the background to correct it in post processing or camera settings as suggested in the 2nd post

I see that there was a good shot here if you were lower to focus on the bows lined up, - an alternate approach to what Frank suggested.
First off, - its a little underexposed, and the boast look better a tad brighter.
Ive cropped to show what a focus on the bows only would look like, in the mod - its rather a panoramic format, but its meant to convey the idea.
The very small aperture wasnt necessary at 55mm, - f.8 would have been adequate, and may have produced both a sharper shot, and provided a little out of focus in the distance.
Theres a very good read on dof, - and you can enter your own camera and lens combo to see dof measurements, using the online dof tool at dofmaster.com.
I hope you fins this helpful, - and Ive just noticed your comment above which sounds like its i line with whats Im suggesting.
regards
Willie

I see that there was a good shot here if you were lower to focus on the bows lined up, - an alternate approach to what Frank suggested.

First off, - its a little underexposed, and the boast look better a tad brighter.
Ive cropped to show what a focus on the bows only would look like, in the mod - its rather a panoramic format, but its meant to convey the idea.

The very small aperture wasnt necessary at 55mm, - f.8 would have been adequate, and may have produced both a sharper shot, and provided a little out of focus in the distance.

Theres a very good read on dof, - and you can enter your own camera and lens combo to see dof measurements, using the online dof tool at dofmaster.com.

I hope you fins this helpful, - and Ive just noticed your comment above which sounds like its i line with whats Im suggesting.

hiya dorian
well I am not here to offer any advice because as you know I am very much a beginner ...
but I like both the boat pics , and was going to say I prefer the colour , but I really like the b + w the more I look at it.
your doing fab
les

hiya dorian

well I am not here to offer any advice because as you know I am very much a beginner ...

but I like both the boat pics , and was going to say I prefer the colour , but I really like the b + w the more I look at it.

The nearest boat appears quite dark, as it is shaded from strong sunlight; there's a strong contrast there and a blue colour cast. While this is a true record of what you saw, you can try using flash to illuminate people or objects in deep shadow.

The nearest boat appears quite dark, as it is shaded from strong sunlight; there's a strong contrast there and a blue colour cast. While this is a true record of what you saw, you can try using flash to illuminate people or objects in deep shadow.